Petunia's Duo Dilemma 2
by Nyx Nox
Summary: The sequel to Petunia's Duo Dilemma: An enraged potions master, miserable emerald eyed twins, a whale of a cousin, and horse-faced aunt thrown together after a rescue mission that was supposed to save the lives of Harry and Iris Potter. AU. Child abuse references. Reading the original story may be beneficial to understanding this fanfic.
1. The Professor Interferes

_Before you read:_ This is the sequel to Petunia's Duo Dilemma. If you have not read the first story I suggest you do so before continuing to read.

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Iris and Harry prepared for the worst, accepting that they likely would not survive tonight's beating. Vernon was ready to release his fury and there would be no stopping him. The two were shaking, whimpering, and tensing up for the first blow. Tears leaked from Iris' eyes and Harry held her close to him.

They were unaware of anything besides preparing for the onslaught of pain. If they tried hard enough they could mentally block out everything from pain to their surroundings. It must have worked since the pain of the first blow never came.

"Or what?" Vernon broke the silence of the room. Harry opened his eyes a fraction and blanched. He nudged Iris and she opened her eyes and gasped.

"Lower the belt, Dursley," Professor Snape growled. His wand was pointed at the man. He felt angrier than expected before leaving Hogwarts.

The Potters looked horrible and didn't deserve the treatment they were about to receive. He expected them to be pampered or something close to that but no, their uncle was ready to beat the life out of them with no remorse whatsoever.

Vernon growled and whipped the belt down. Iris and Harry yelped and ducked down, arms raised above their heads.

"_IMMOBULUS,_" Severus shouted. The spell burst from his wand and Vernon was frozen in place. The belt dangled limply from his raised fist.

Iris burst into tears and curled into herself. Harry remained frozen, trying not to cry. Severus took a steadying breath and looked at the twins. He was ready to cry as well but the current situation needed to get handled.

Petunia entered the room, having been upstairs until the whimpering stopped, and stared at Severus. She stumbled backwards and held onto the doorway for support. Dudley was hidden in his bedroom. The aunt could not summon words.

"Petunia," Severus narrowed his eyes at her. The woman began to cry. He groaned. Three people crying. He wasn't prepared for the adult's tears on top of the twins'.

"I-" He shook his head and gritted his teeth. "I'll deal with you later." He then turned to face Iris and Harry. The man shrunk down to the twins' level and reached out to touch Harry. A frown creased across his features when Harry flinched back.

Severus stepped back and raised his wand. Iris and Harry stared up at him. Two pairs of Lily's eyes looking up at him with unreadable expressions. He needed to help them.

"Expecto patronum," Severus whispered. White light burst from the tip of his wand. It came out in the shape of a doe. He took a deep breath after and stuck the wand up his sleeve, glancing around the room.

The doe would arrive in Minerva McGonagall's office and reveal the events that spurred from what appeared to be use of accidental magic. Poppy or Minerva would arrive to help get the children to safety.

All that was left was to wait and try to calm the members of the house.

"Where is their stuff?" Severus turned to face Petunia. The woman shrunk back against the wall and pointed at the cupboard across from her.

"They have a room upstairs- the one with the locks on it. Some personal things are hidden under a loose floorboard," She whispered. The floorboard was discovered upon cleaning the room while the twins were taking care of outside chores one day. She was surprised to find their photo album.

"Their wands?" Severus was already headed toward the cupboard. Rage threatened to take over when he put the light on.

There was a dingy cot on the ground, obviously old blood splattered along the wall, and drawings that could only have been drawn by Harry and Iris hanging along the back wall. The twins' trunks were on top of the cot, apparently untouched since the two left school. There was no sign of any of the letters he sent to Iris.

"What the hell happened here?" He barked after moving the trunks into the hallway.

"Vernon…" Petunia whimpered. She couldn't bring herself to saying anything else. It would come out eventually.

She was no use. Severus sighed exasperatedly. He would have to get her to open up. Now was not the time though.

The wizard cast a protective shield over Iris and Harry. The two were in shock and silent as ever. He then went upstairs and was surprised to find the Dursley's son cowering in the corner of the hallway.

The amount of family members who were cowering in fear surprised him. Was it all Vernon's doing or did the son and wife have something to do with it? Eleven years of being with the family. The signs of abuse on the children, Dudley's mental state and bodily size included, were clear but who was to blame?

Severus brushed past the boy and approached the only door with outer locks on it. Five locks. That was rather unnecessary. Severus forced the thought aside and entered. The light didn't turn on when he moved the switch. A simple lumos spell would reveal that there were no light bulbs in the room.

He hated the Dursleys with a passion now that he was finding more signs of maltreatment. The neighbors should have noticed that the two children were miserably neglected and abused. He wondered if they ever noticed or if someone tried to notify the Ministry. Albus insisted the children were treated like royalty at home. Perhaps there was even more to the story than just blood relatives tormenting Lily's children.

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**A/N:** I will be working a lot this summer and have no idea when my next update will be. I will hopefully have something up every other week but I am _**not**_ making promises. I plan to have at least 1000 words for each update and will not post anything unless the next chapter is already halfway written.

I am a college student who writes for fun and does not spend every waking moment working on fanfics. Please keep that in mind before getting snarky about how scattered my updates can get.

Also, there's no way I can be Queen Rowling. I am an American and owe her a thank you for creating a plot bunny for me.


	2. The Lion's Arrival and Leaving

Shout out to the guest reviewer who corrected my spell choice in chapter one. Onward with the chapter...

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A quick glance around the room revealed that the twins had no worldly belongings. The movement of the only visibly loose floorboard brought about the discovery of the twins' photo album, a few drawings, and the invisibility cloak as well as Iris' bracelets.

"Fantastic," Severus muttered under his breath. He grabbed hold of everything that looked as though it belonged to the twins and shrunk them down to fit into his cloak pocket. He would resize them once the twins were brought back to his home.

A shriek echoed from downstairs and he closed his eyes. It had to belong to Petunia there was no way Iris or Harry could hit such a high pitched tone. He left the room and almost bumped into the Dursley's whale of a son.

Dudley froze and backed against the wall of the hallway. Snape ignored him and went down the stairs two at a time. He breathed out a sigh of relief upon spotting Minerva. Dudley silently followed after him. His blonde head could be seen peering over the stairwell. Petunia stood off to the side of the hallway, stunned to have two adult wizards in her home.

"Minerva," Severus breathed out.

"Severus," McGonagall gave him a curt nod. "I see you have things under control. I suggest we move the family at once and allow the aurors we trust to assess the scene. Leave the uncle behind and get everyone else to safety."

"I'm not taking the muggles to my home," Severus set his jaw. "I don't trust either of them but I know they can't have done as bad as Vernon."

"We can't keep them at Hogwarts, Severus," Minerva frowned. "Albus will definitely know it was us." Taking the Potters from their home was a plan of Minerva, Severus, and Poppy. Albus was kept out of the loop for the reason that any decisions the headmaster made would likely place the Potters in more danger. Running into family members was not part of the plan. The use of accidental magic was a red flag that practically screamed danger. They needed to act as soon as they could.

Severus opened his mouth to speak but Minerva held up a hand to silence him. She still had more to say and was only going to continue if Severus gave her his full attention.

"I know you don't want to but it's the only hope we have. Maybe they will actually treat the children better now that Vernon isn't involved." She sighed and glanced at Vernon. Petunia and Dudley were lurking awkwardly near the entrance of the kitchen.

"Or," Severus glared in Petunia's direction, "We stick the lot of them in Azkaban for a few days."

Petunia's face paled. That was the wizard prison she once heard the man and her sister talk about back when they were children.

"We'll behave," She blurted out. Severus and Minerva stared at her, having forgotten that the family was even there to begin with. "I swear. Just don't put Dudley into harm's way."

"Mrs. Dursley, you are lucky we are legally not allowed to put you and your family through the hell Harry and Iris appear to have suffered while living here," Minerva growled. "If I could, I would ensure you had to endure the treatment Lily and James' children received from you and your husband."

Petunia made a noise similar to a dog that had its tail tread on and backed against the wall once more.

"He made me do it," She cried out and began sobbing. "He threatened to kill me and the twins if I didn't treat them like they were worthless."

Severus grimaced and took a deep breath. He needed to remain level headed and calm for the poor children in the other room. No exploding, no yelling. If anything like that happened Harry and Iris would lose the little trust they had in him. He couldn't risk it.

"We'll talk one on one once we get everyone situated," He said. "Take Dudley and pack a bag of your stuff- necessities only. Minerva will escort you to my house." Minerva gave him a small nod.

"Hurry up then," The professor murmured. "The headmaster will start asking questions if I'm not at Hogwarts in time for our meeting." There was no meeting she just needed the Dursleys to understand the importance of rushing.

Petunia and Dudley disappeared to the second level of the house, leaving Minerva and Severus to tend to the twins. Minerva waved her wand and lowered the shield charm that surrounded the twins once she was certain Vernon wasn't going anywhere.

"You poor dears," She grimaced upon spotting the still shaking Potters. "I'm so sorry. I should have intervened earlier."

Her words fell on deaf ears; the twins were sobbing. She gazed at Harry and put on the tone she used for dealing with first years heading to the infirmary.

"Mr. and Miss Potter," She kept her voice low and friendly. "Your uncle can no longer hurt you." The twins looked like a pair of deer staring into headlights. "We're taking you to safety."

"I'm taking you home," Severus said. He had a pained expression. They were Lily's kids. He once imagined being her husband. Now everything felt absolutely wrong. "If you eventually agree, I will work to ensure I get custody of you. You won't have to live with your uncle ever again."

The twins exchanged confused looks. They were having a conversation based solely off their facial expressions.

"We have to move fast though. Aurors will be coming and the Headmaster will likely be involved. He can't know we have you," He continued. "Minerva is there any way to stall him?"

"I will figure something out if the two agree to accompany you home," She answered. Petunia and Dudley were given no choice on the decision.

Harry gave Iris a single jerky nod. Then the two stepped forward and clasped hands, gazing expectantly up at Severus.

"You'll have to take them to Mrs. Figg's to disapparate. It's just outside the safety ward," Minerva said. She stepped forward and pressed a kiss to Harry and Iris' foreheads. The two shrunk back from her and she bit back a wince. They were so broken and so trusting. She failed the twins and she failed their parents.

"I'll meet you back at Spinner's end with their … the other two," She could not call Petunia and Dudley their family. Severus nodded and looked to the Potters.

"Shall we?" He asked. Harry glanced at Iris. _I trust him._ She thought and tried to display the words with her eyes. Her fingers tightened around Harry's and she squeezed, grasping Severus' hand with her free one.

Severus was surprised to say the least. He looked to Minerva and she gave him an encouraging nod. One deep breath and he was able to find the strength to link fingers with Iris' and step forward. Things were certainly going to change once they reached the outside of Mrs. Figg's house.

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